The latest revenue figures from the music industry tell us that we've entered a new era: the era of interactive streaming. Interactive streaming music services — Spotify, Apple Music, Napster, Deezer, Tidal, etc. — now account for the majority of recorded music industry revenue and are growing at better than 50% per year. We're now in the fifth era of recorded music, after the eras of vinyl, tape (8-tracks and cassettes), CDs and … [Read more...]
HIFIMAN Intros New Planar Headphones Designed With Smartphones In Mind
HIFIMAN today announced availability of Ananda, the company's new open-back planar headphone designed to maximize performance of any personal audio source, especially smartphones and tablets. "Ananda is designed for music lovers who want one high-performance, extraordinarily comfortable headphone for all personal listening, whether it's a home system, high-resolution portable player, or an everyday smartphone," said Dr. Fang Bian, Founder and … [Read more...]
Listening Clubs Entice Audiophiles in London
One Sunday evening in September, the main hall of a community center here was decked out with ribbons, balloons, and a gyrating disco ball that marked a sonic sweet spot — the optimal position for partygoers to enjoy the clean, punchy (and not too loud) sound of five towering speakers arranged strategically around the room, piping a playlist of pop, funk, rock and dance floor gems for all generations. The Lucky Cloud sound system was in town. … [Read more...]
Gear Review: Sony MDR-1000X Noise-Cancelling Headphones
The latest Bluetooth offering from Sony is targeting a very specific market segment best referred to as "premium noise cancellation," and the company seems pretty confident that with the MDR-1000X headphones ($400), it has a hit on its hands. Sony is claiming "industry-leading noise cancellation" with these luxury cans, which use ostensibly the same drivers as last year's highly regarded MDR-1A headset made for listening to hi-res audio, as … [Read more...]
Gear Review: Denon Heos HS2 Multiroom Speakers
Denon's Heos HS2 multiroom speakers offer hi-res streaming support and Bluetooth connectivity. The look of the Heos hasn't changed in this new iteration – just the internal components have been polished – so the Heos 7 HS2 and Heos 5 HS2 both have the same horizontal teardrop design as the original line, and both are built extremely well with nice attention to detail, well-finished edges, and premium quality materials. The top-of-the-line Heos … [Read more...]